Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

Abbreviations

Chapter 1: Introduction
My Personal Journey: A Liminal Identity
My Research Journey: The Issue at Stake
Rationale for the Book
Key Concepts and Tools
Foundations, Goals, and Objectives
Book Summary

PART I: HISTORICAL, CULTURAL, AND THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS

Chapter 2: A Brief History of the Songhai
Songhai History
Songhai Language and Culture
Conclusion

Chapter 3: Ethnomusicology
What Is Ethnomusicology?
Music and Culture
Worship and Music
Missiology and Ethnomusicology

Chapter 4: Songhai Music-Culture
Limited Knowledge about Songhai Music
History of Songhai Music
Ideas about Music
Musical Occasions/Genres
Musical Instruments
Musicians
Dance

Chapter 5: Worship, Theology, and Music
Definition of Worship
Toward a Theology of Worship
Worship and Music
Two Distinctions
Gospel, Music, and Culture
Indigenous/Traditional Music in Church

Chapter 6: Protestant Songhai Music-Culture
History of Music in the Songhai Church
Worship in the Songhai Context
Christian Ideas about Worship and Music
Musical Instruments in Songhai Worship
Musicians in the Songhai Church

Chapter 7: Grid/Group Cultural Theory and Five Historical/Cultural Influences
Introduction
Grid/Group Cultural Theory
Five Subcultures influencing the Songhai
A New Model for Cultural Theory

PART II: CULTURAL THEORY AND FIVE SONGHAI SUBCULTURES
Introduction: Cultures and Identities

Chapter 8: Traditional Music-Culture
Grid/group and the Traditional Songhai Music-Culture
The Songhai Church and Traditional Music
Conclusion

Chapter 9: Islamic Sub-Culture
Grid/Group and the Islamic Subculture
The Songhai Church and Islamic Attitudes Toward Music
Conclusion

Chapter 10: The National Sub-Culture
Grid/Group and the National/Political Subculture
The Songhai Church and the National/Political Culture
Conclusion

Chapter 11: The Western/Global/Modern Subculture
Grid/Group and the Western/Global/Modern Subculture
The Songhai Church and the Western/Global/Modern Subculture
Conclusion

Chapter 12: Protestant Church Subculture
Gird/Group and the Protestant Church Subculture
The Songhai Church and the Protestant Church Subculture
Conclusion

PART III: APPLICATION

Chapter 13: The Five Subcultures and Change
Music, Change, and Communitas
Changes in the Five Subcultures
The Sources of Change
Conclusion

Chapter 14: Grid/Group and the Logophonic Principle
Musical Praxis in the Songhai Church: Word and Sound
Paradigm Shift, or A Modest Proposal
Conclusion

Chapter 15: Grid/Group, Identity, and Music
Cultures, Identities, and Cultural Theory
A Stepping Stone to Further Research

Glossary

Songhai Pronunciation Guide

Index

Bibliography

Music is an exciting aspect of African cultures south of the Sahara, abounding in creativity and full of life and movement. Christian worship music was added to the music mix by missionaries from Europe and North America in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and it has retained much of its Western flavor. This book is a case study of the African Christian community among the Songhai and its worship music. Drawing on extensive research conducted over a six-year period, the author explains the relationships between music, culture, and worship using the Songhai church as a case study. In the process, he builds a model for further research and experimentation in the worship of other Christian communities. Included in the discussion are insights from the disciplines of ethno- musicology, worship study, anthropology, theology, missiology, and history.